


Redemption

by fluffyvillain



Category: Captain America (Movies), Gossip Girl, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Bronze (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Love, Love/Hate, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-03-17 21:31:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13667697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffyvillain/pseuds/fluffyvillain
Summary: AU!Some people put family first, some put career first, some put love first, and some put money first.  Sebastian lost his family thanks to the Tuckers and all of his life he wanted revenge, he wanted them to suffer.When she found out the truth about her family, Sophia Tucker betrayed them and chose to help Sebastian, she sacrificed everything for him.One of the persons Sebastian Stan hated the most will become the one to save him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophia finds out the truth about her family and Sebastian gets an unexpected visitor.

Sebastian tossed and turned in his king size bed. It was one of those terrifying nights again, pictures in his dream were so vivid. He was trapped in a car for a long time. He was desperately trying to move and reach for his parents from the back seat before hearing the sirens. He saw his 12 year old self screaming for his parents to wake up as firefighters pulled him out of the destroyed car. There was blood all over him, but he didn’t feel any pain, he just kept calling out for his parents. He clearly saw firefighters exchanging looks as one of them shook their head and at that moment it was clear to him that his parents were gone. His screams were replaced by silent tears. He could hear the firefighter carrying him to the ambulance whisper: **“I’m so sorry, kiddo,”** and that’s where the nightmare stopped, as usually.

He woke up drenched in sweat, clutching the duvet. He felt like his heart was trying to escape his rib cage, he tried to stabilize it by taking deep breaths before getting out of bed. It was going to be another sleepless night for him. He relived the painful event far less often now after 20 years from the tragedy has passed. As a child, he used to have nightmares almost every single night. He took off his shirt and threw it in the laundry room before pouring himself a glass of water and placing himself in front of glass wall of his penthouse. He felt helpless and he wanted revenge. He knew that the Tuckers were responsible for this tragedy, they screwed over his parents and took everything they had, leaving them only with their hotel chain. Companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars fell into their hands, as if their own wealth wasn’t enough for them. But they didn’t stop there, they were responsible for the car accident that cost his parents lives. He knew it, but he couldn’t prove it. He hated them, just the mention of their last name made him nauseous.

He managed to acquire a small part of the shares of their _Tuck Holding_ , but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to take away everything from them, just like they took what was most valuable for him. He avoided them as much as he could, if just hearing their last name made him nauseous, their faces made him vicious. He even hated Sophia, the only child of the Tuckers, who was only 4 at the time of the tragedy, because she had everything he could never have thanks to her parents.

* * *

 

 

Sophia woke up feeling happier than usual, today was the day she was going to the book store to make stocks of the books she was going to take back to her University in Switzerland. Even though she was busy with writing her Master’s thesis, she always found enough time to read. It’s her escape from everything. One might think that she was a spoiled little rich girl, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sure, money allowed her to have the best possible education and travel the world, but that was it. She wasn’t interested in power which came with money. She was very well aware that she only had a few real friends and that she was surrounded by the people who thought they could use her or the ones who hated her guts because they envied her. She hated going to public events knowing they were just used as a way for people to display power to other people. Unlike her parents, she always felt like she didn’t belong.

Her day started as usual, she had breakfast with her loving parents before heading to the book store. It was their tradition, no matter how busy they were, they always had breakfast together. That was the side of her parents that she loved, they were always there for her and family always came first. The side of them she didn’t like was the cruel, business side of them, it even scared her sometimes.

 

She was driving for about 10 minutes before realizing she had forgotten her wallet in her room, she made a u-turn and drove back home. She parked the car in front of the gates. **“Miss Sophia, would you like me to park your car?”** James, a middle aged man whom she knew her whole life opened the gates for her.

 

 **“No, thank you, James. I just forgot my wallet, I’ll be right back.”** She ran back to the house heading straight to her room, but she was surprised to hear her parents’ voices coming from the library. She though that had gone to work. She wasn’t the one to eavesdrop, but something came over her and she stood in front of the closed door, still being able to hear everything.

 

 **“What the hell came over you, Linda?”** Her father was clearly pissed.

 

 **“It didn’t just come over me. I’ve felt this guilt for years. We are responsible for someone’s death. We practically made a child an orphan.”** Her mother’s voice was clearly shaking. If Sophia wanted to move now, she couldn’t. Her legs suddenly felt like the weighted a ton.

 

 **“First of all, Sebastian had a grandfather who raised him, so he wasn’t an orphan. Secondly, what do you think I should have done? They were about to prove that we screwed them over, did you want to go to jail? Do you want to go to jail now, Linda?”** Her father was shouting now. **“Tell me, do you want to confess everything? Are you ready to spend the rest of your life in jail? Are you?”**

Sophia felt like puking, she made herself run. Before she knew it, she was by her car, throwing her guts out. Luckily, James wasn’t there at the moment. **“Monsters! Fucking monsters!”** She kicked one of the tires continuously, tears streaming down her face. All the respect she had for her parents was gone in under a minute. She puked again. She knew right away that they were talking about Sebastian Stan and everything became much clearer to her. She now knew why he hated her guts, she only saw him a couple of times in her twenties, but she could feel his hatred, he radiated it. The way he looked at her, him ignoring her even though he knew exactly who she was because he used to come over to their house when they were kids. She only remembered a couple of things from such an early childhood and he was one of them, he was older than she was and he clearly remembered her.

 

She gathered herself together when she saw James approaching, she entered the car and drove off to the Hamptons. Even though it was winter, the beach always calmed her. She was trying her hardest to focus on the road, but she had a million things on her mind. She felt betrayed, the perfect image she had of her parents was ruined, it was like her whole life was a lie. She wanted to run to Sebastian and apologize, but she didn’t know what she should say. There was no right way to apologize for something so atrocious, but there was one thing she could do to at least make things fairer.

 

She spilled the content of her bag onto the passenger seat in order to find her phone. She willed herself to stop crying and cleared her throat to sound as normal as she could. She couldn’t call her family lawyer for this matter, so she opted for her best friend Luke. He was a few years older than her and they grew up together, he was more like a brother to her than a friend. She was even his best (wo)man at his recent wedding. Most importantly, she knew she could trust him unconditionally.

 

Phone rang a few times before she heard the familiar voice: **“Hey, Soph, my bro. What’s up?”**

 

It took all the strength not to start crying, so she took a few seconds break before inhaling deeply. **“Are you busy? Is anyone else around you?”**

**“No, I’m alone in my office.”** Sophia heard the door being shut. **“Are you okay, something seems off with you.”**

There wasn’t a single person in this word who knew her better. **“Everything is off. I have a question, even though I already know the answer.”**

**“I’m listening.”** Sophia heard a plop as he set on the chair.

 

 **“If I heard something about a crime, like a confession, is there anything I could do?”** Sophia gripped her steering wheel with one hand.

 

**“What kind of crime? Do you have any other evidence, has a law suit ever been filed?”**

**“Murder.”** Sophia’s forehead was on the steering wheel now. **“I don’t and no.”**

**“Shit, Soph, what have you gotten yourself into?”** Luke voice oozed concern.

 

**“We’ll talk in person. They don’t know that I know. Just answer me.”**

**“You know that I don’t do cases like that, but no, there is nothing you can do. You don’t have any evidence, if the law suit were filed, you could’ve been a witness maybe. But, this way, there’s nothing you can do, I’m afraid.”**

**“Just like I thought.”** Sophia took another deep breath. **“I need you to do me a favor. I want to transfer all of my shares to someone.”**

**“To whom? What the hell is going on, Sophia?”**

**“Sebastian Stan. I’ll tell you everything once I’m there. Is noon good for you?”**

**“Why him? Do you know what that means? Without your 20% of shares, your family will no longer own the majority of shares in their own company. You will feel your parents’ wreath, full force. I advise you not to do that, as a lawyer and as your friend.”** The taping of his fingers on his desk was audible to Sophia, that’s how she knew he was extremely nervous. That was his way of calming down.

 

**“Conscience. Don’t worry about me, just trust me. Noon?”**

**“Jesus, Sophia. Noon.”**

She stayed on the beach for the next hour, until she was sure her parents had gone to work. She went back home and packed her things in two big suitcases, Luke was right, she knew she was going to suffer huge consequences and she had to be prepared. She made sure James didn’t see her putting her suitcases in the car. She went back inside the house one more time to take all the necessary documents, not just for the transfer of shares, but everything that was important to her.

* * *

 

 

 

After the initial shock, Luke did everything Sophia asked him to do. They arranged that she’ll stay at his place before going back to Switzerland once her parents find out. After going through the papers one last time, she left her car on a parking nearby _Home Hotels_ headquarter. She tried to mentally prepare herself for what was to come.

 

When she entered the building, she was greeted by a girl working at the front desk. **“How may I assist you, mam?”**

**“I’m here to see Mr. Stan.”** Sophia fidgeted with a folder she was holding.

 

 **“Did you schedule an appointment with him?”** The girl put on a guard right away, she met a bunch of people who tried to get to get to someone from the corporation. It was her job to politely turn them down.

 

 **“I don’t and I know what your duties are, but just inform his secretary that Sophia Tucker came to see him, please.”** Sophia’s tone was stern, but not rude.

Girl’s facial expression changed in an instant, she knew who Sophia Tucker was, she simply didn’t recognize her. **“Yes, mam, right away.”**

In a matter of minutes, she was entering Sebastian office, his secretary, a sweet older lady opened the door for her. She felt her pulse in her throat and she could swear she felt cold sweat coming over her. Sebastian was standing there in front of her, back tuned to his desk, looking her in the eye. **“I don’t want to be disturbed, Jude.”**

**“Of course, Mr. Stan,”** she shut the door behind herself.

 

In a few strides, Sebastian trapped Sophia between himself and a wall, his arms stretched on the sides of her, his hands touching the wall. He was towering over her and she felt trapped and scared. She has never seen such a fury in anyone’s eyes. **“What are you doing here, little girl? Did your parents send you, huh?”**

Sophia placed a hand on his arm, trying to get free from his body cage, but he wouldn’t bulge. **“Mr. Stan, I…”** She couldn’t take her eyes of his steal blue ones. Her voice was shaky and her pupils were so dilated that it was barely noticeable that she had blue eyes too.

 

Sebastian contained himself after a few seconds. He walked over to his chair and motioned for her to sit in the chair across the desk. **“Have a seat, Sophia. Maybe it will be easier for you to tell me why you are here.”**

Sophia forced herself to move, cold sweat now turned into hot one and the fact that she was still in her coat didn’t help. **“I’m here because of this.”** She laid the folder in front of him.

 

Sebastian followed her every move, he noticed her knuckles tuned white from gripping onto the sides of the chair. She looked like a terrified lamb, in any other situation, he would adjust his behavior and make her feel safe, but she was one of the Tuckers. He wanted her to suffer. **“And what might that be?”** He diverted his eyes to the folder.

 

 **“I want you to have all of my shares in _Tuck Holding._ Twenty percent, everything I own… I know that it’s not nearly enough to repair the damage caused, but that’s all I could do.” **The look in her eyes changed from fear to what seemed to be compassion, something he hasn’t seen in 20 years.

 

Sebastian assumed she didn’t know anything, what kind of parents would say to their child: **“Your parents are murderers, honey.”** That didn’t make him from feeling any less hatred towards her, but now he knew she knew and here she was, handing him everything on a silver platter. **“So, you found out what your parents did.”**

**“Yes.”** Sophia was now leaning towards him. **“I am so sorry, words can’t describe how sorry I am for everything.”** Sebastian was even more surprised seeing a single tear escape her eyes. **“This is the only thing I could do, I don’t have any proof. If I did, I…”**

**“Enough, you don’t have any right to apologize.”** Sebastian felt furious again, he shot up from his chair. **“Leave, leave right now.”** He wasn’t yelling, his voice was perfectly calm.

 

 **“Everything is set, I’ve already signed everything, you just need to put your signatures and your lawyer can take care of the rest.”** She didn’t make a single motion that made Sebastian think she was going to leave. **“Please, do it as soon as possible, that’s all I ask from you. It can all be done by tomorrow.”**

**“Didn’t you hear me?”** This part was quietly said, unlike the next one. **“Fucking leave!”**

Sophia understood his rage, it was what she deserved. She expected a lot worse, to be honest. That would’ve been deserved too. Without words, she rose from the chair and walked towards the door.

 

Her hand was on the doorknob when she was stopped by Sebastian’s words. **“You know that you don’t deserve gratitude, do you?”** She turned to him, not giving him any answer. **“Still, you could simply not have done this this, so…”**

With a nod of her head, she left his office. Not feeling better in the slightest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophia faces consequences after betraying her family. Sebastian is there to pick up the pieces.

Sophia texted her mother that she will be home late and headed to Luke’s place. Emma, Luke’s wife, made dinner and, after Luke shared what happened with Sophia, Emma didn’t let go of her for solid 20 minutes. Sophia knew Emma almost as well as she knew Luke, she didn’t mind Emma finding out what happened. They tried to make her feel better, but they both knew that their tries would be in vain.

 

Sophia sneaked in the house after midnight, she took the time to look around herself, to save as many memories of this house as possible because she knew soon nothing would be the same. Her warm bed was waiting for her, but she couldn’t fall asleep even for a minute, so she just kept staring at the ceiling, waiting for the breakfast time.

 

Like always, breakfast was on the table at 8:00 and she was the first to sit at it. Her parents walked in, hand in hand, a few minutes after her. Up until yesterday, she found this image adorable, after many years together, her parents were still in love with each other. Now she felt repulsed by what she saw, her mother was too weak and too much in love to stand up to her husband, she was his accomplice. She couldn’t say that all the love she had for them has vanished, but all the respect certainly has. She barely said anything and she brushed off her mother’s concerns about her not looking well and not eating anything. She couldn’t wait for them to leave.

 

Neither Luke nor Emma understood why she went home, but Sophia needed to see their faces once they found out what she did. She needed to tell them what she thought of them now, she didn’t want to avoid them, she wanted to confront them. She set at her desk as hours passed by, at one point, she thought that Sebastian didn’t go through with it. She braced herself for the impact as she heard the door flying open.

 

 **“Where the hell are you, Sophia? Come here right now.”** Her father was raging, but she was calm.

 

She walked to the lobby and stood in front of her parents. **“I’m here, father.”**

**“Do you know what you’ve done? You just ruined everything we worked hard for.”** He was getting angrier and angrier as he shook her shoulders. He mother stood silently by the door. **“Why the hell would you do something like that, you ungrateful brat?”**

She has never heard those words from her father nor has she seen such a behavior before, but she was prepared for everything or at least she thought. **“Because the two of you are nothing but cruel murderers.”** However, she wasn’t prepared for what came right after her words. Her beloved father, who has never even spanked her as a child, slapped so hard that her lip split and she went flying across the lobby, hitting her head on a small table and lending on her right hand. She immediately felt blood trickling down her face and throat.

 

Her mother ran to her, but her father caught her by the elbow. **“Don’t you dare, Linda.”** He let go of her right away, but she remained standing next to him. **“How dare you?”** He assumed that she heard them having the conversation once James told him that Sophia went back home for a few minutes yesterday. **“Whatever I did, I did for you too. From now on, you are dead to us. Pack your bags and leave. You have an hour and after that you won’t be able to step a foot in this house.”**

Sophia lifted herself grabbing the same table on which she previously had banged her head. **“Don’t you ever dare using me as an excuse for being monsters. And, weren’t you the one who taught me to call things by their real name? I won’t need an hour, I’ve already prepared everything. Enjoy living your empty lives.”** She went to her room to take her coat and bag. When she got out of the room, they weren’t in the lobby anymore.

 

She didn’t have anywhere to go, Luke and Emma were at work and she didn’t want to alarm any other friends, so she drove to the Hamptons again. She still felt blood trickling down her face and the pain in her wrist started to kick in. She pressed tissues on the wound, put it wouldn’t stop bleeding. She was never the one to violate traffic rules, but she needed to get to her destinations as soon as possible so she was going way past the speed limit. She reached a beach just by the road in the Hamptons in a matter of minutes. Even in the summer, this beach wasn’t very popular because it was visible from the road, but at least she was sure there will be no one there. She ran out of the car down to the ocean where she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her feeling of helplessness caused the tears to stream down her face again, mixing with blood. She fell on her knees and grabbed a handful of send, wanting to throw it in the ocean, but the wind blew it right back at her and she screamed once again.

 

Sebastian was looking out of the car window as his driver was taking him back to the headquarters after a meeting. That’s when he saw a girl in a yellow coat down by the ocean and his mind flashed back to Sophia who wore yellow coat yesterday when he met her. He dismissed the idea right away and even if it were her, there was absolutely no reason for him to do anything about it, for all he knew, the girl was just taking a break by the ocean. They drove for a minute when the feeling of unease came over him and, not even knowing why, he heard himself ordering his driver to turn back the car.

 

 **“John, stay in the car, I just need to check something.”** Sebastian saw John nod in the rearview mirror. He took a glance at the car parked next to his, but all he saw was that a handbag was still in there, there was nothing distinguishable about it so he continued walking towards the girl. The sobs became louder as he approached her and it became clearer with every step he took that it was indeed Sophia Tucker.

 

He didn’t want to startle her, so he called her name in a soft voice. **“Sophia…”** She turned her upper part of the body to him and she saw that the front of her coat wasn’t yellow anymore, it was red and drenched in blood. **“Jesus, Sophia, what happened to you?”** His question was answered by sobs. He squatted and placed his scarf over her wound. A huge bruise was starting to form on the left side of her face and that side was swollen, there was also a small cut in the corner of her lips.

 

 **“Please… Just… Leave…”** Sophia uttered between sobs.

 

 **“Come on, little girl,”** he tried lifting her, but she fought hard to stay on her knees.

 

**“Go… Just go…”**

**“I will, but you are going too.”** She winced in pain when he moved her right wrist to make her press the scarf over her wound. **“Hold it with your left hand,”** surprisingly, she did what she was told. He lifted her now that both of his hands were free. **“Let’s go, I’m taking you to a hospital.”**

She immediately stopped walking. **“No hospital.”** Her sobs almost stopped.

 

 **“Trust me, they are very discreet.”** He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and urged her to continue walking. **“Did your father do this? Don’t even respond, I know he did. Do you want to file a suit against him?”**

**“No!”** It came out harsher than she intended to say it.

 

 **“Okay, we can say that you were robbed. That they just stole your watch before I spotted them and that they ran away. You weren’t able to see their faces, all right?”** He pulled her closer to him, not being able to explain the urge to protect her.

 

 **“All right.”** She relaxed in his hold, it gave her the feeling of comfort.

 

He fished car keys from her pocket when they reached their cars. He unlocked it and took her bag and handed John the keys. **“Take her car to my place, John, please. Then you can take the rest of the day off, I won’t be needing your services.”**

**“Of course, boss.”**

**“No, just leave it here, please. I’ll come back later for it.”** Sophia looked at John pleadingly.

 

 **“Do as I told you.”** Sebastian opened the door of his car for Sophia. **“Stop being stubborn, we will easily figure it out later.”**

None of them said anything during the ride to the hospital. Sebastian kept throwing glances at her to make sure she was okay, but she kept her eyes glued to the road. She only let out an occasional sniff. When he parked the car at the hospital parking, he went around the car to open the door for her, but she was already out. Before he could reach her, he fainted on the concrete. **“Shit.”**

* * *

 

Sophia slowly opened her eyes, it was too bright for her liking and when she focused she saw Sebastian standing over her bed. He ran the back of his hand over her unbruised cheek multiple times. **“You are okay, little girl. You fainted because you were exhausted, you have three stitches and your wrist is sprained.”**

 

Sophia grabbed his hand with hers and placed them on her chest. **“I’m so sorry, Sebastian. I know that one sorry isn’t enough, but…”**

Not only didn’t he remove her hand from her chest, but his also placed his other hand over hers. **“Now’s not a good time. Luke called you at least ten times, your boyfriend must be worried sick. I didn’t want to answer because I didn’t know what to say.”**

**“Crap.”** Sophia pulled her hand from his and grabbed her phone from the night stand. **“He’s my friend, I’m supposed to stay at his place.”** Sebastian kept straight face, but he couldn’t deny that he felt a kind of a relief. **“Luke, listen, I’m fine, I just had a minor accident.”** Sebastian couldn’t hear what the man was saying, but it was clear once Sophia said: **“Yes, they found out. It didn’t end well. I will be at your place soon.”**

**“No, you won’t.”** Sebastian took away her phone. **“Hello, this is Sebastian Stan. Your friend is with me, Michael Tucker hit her. I think it’s best if she stayed with me for a few days, I want to make sure she is safe and taken care of. In the end, it’s my fault she’s in this state. I’m afraid Tucker could find her at your place.”**

**“I’m not staying with you, Sebastian. Give me my phone.”** She tried to reach for the phone but the IV disabled her.

 

 **“We’ll come pick her stuff up soon. Okay, bye.”** Sebastian hung up and handed her the phone. **“I thought I told you to stop being stubborn. Your friend is a smart man, he agrees with me.”**

**“You have no right.”** Sophia didn’t want to stay with a man who hated her guts, she wanted redemption, but she didn’t want to feel like a burden.

 

**“Listen, I am very well aware of the fact what you sacrificed for me and what you are going through. I feel guilty because you are in this bed. Like I said, your father could never find you at my place.”**

**“Trust me, he won’t try to find me. He told me I was dead to them.”** She diverted her gaze from his for a moment before looking him in the eye right back: **“But, so are they to me.”**

He set at the bottom of her bed and took fingers of her injured hand in his hand and he looked at them as if he were examining them. **“I am not going to lie to you, I’m ecstatic that Michael Tucker feels like lost his daughter. I’m delighted that he feels betrayed, this is a great turn of events for me.”** He looked at her but her gaze was fixated on a side wall. **“I thought I was going to feel great joy if I saw you suffering one day, but I was wrong. I’m sorry that you feel like this and that he hit you, but I am not sorry that this happened.”** Her gaze stayed on the wall and her fingers stayed in his hand until a nurse came in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophia temporary moves in with Sebastian. Sebastian feels someone being compassionate to him after a long time.

Sophia stood in the middle of Sebastian’s penthouse living room, it was vast and modern, but her focus was on one thing – a glass wall. She was terrified of heights and she was paralyzed the second she saw it.

 

Sebastian took Sophia’s suitcases to one of his guest rooms and when he came back he found her at the exact same spot he left her. **“What's wrong?”** He sped up and positioned himself on her left side in case she fainted again. **“Are you not feeling well? Do you want me to take you back to the hospital?”**

**“I’m fine, I just… Can you, please, close the blinds?”** Sophia backed away a few steps.

 

 **“Sure.”** Sebastian was confused, but still he humored her. He found the remote and with one click Manhattan lights were no longer visible.

 

Sophia cautiously approached the thick black material that stood between glass and her. She poked it with her index finger and it seem pretty solid. Sebastian followed her every move. **“Thank you. Heights make me nauseous and dizzy. Not always, but usually when there is a glass like this involved.”**

Sebastian suppressed a laugh. **“You do realize that glass is stronger than most walls are?”**

 

 **“I do, but my brain doesn't.”** She sounded way more cheerful now.

 

 **“Okay, now that you are safe…”** Sebastian cleared his throat so he wouldn’t laugh. He approached and tugged on her coat: **“Let me take this. Someone will pick this up tomorrow and take it to dry cleaning. Also, I'll have that someone bring you everything you could possibly need.”**

**“I can do all that by myself tomorrow,”** she stated it as a matter of fact.

**“You can't. I told you, I want you to be safe. I need you to promise me that you won't leave my apartment.”** Tone of his voice went from amused to cold.

 

 **“And I told you I'm already dead to my family. They won't bother harming me, that wouldn't change anything.”** Sophia just shrugged her shoulders, really not finding even the smallest reason for worry.

 

 **“You are so fucking stubborn.”** He disposed of her coat and motioned for her to sit on the couch before standing in front of her. **“Promise me you won't leave the apartment.”**

Sophia sank into the back of the couch, crossing her arms on her chest in defeat. **“Fine, I promise.”**

Sebastian joined her on the couch, feeling relieved. **“Now that we've settled this, it's time to order something to eat. You must be starving. Is steak okay for you?”**

**“You can actually order steak to be delivered? From where?”** Sophia started lowering her guard

 

**“O'Neal’s.”**

**“I didn't know the best steak restaurant in the city does deliveries.”**

**“They do for me.”** Sebastian raised an eyebrow and smirked.

 

 **“Cocky much?”** Sophia couldn’t suppress a smile. She always found him to be attractive from afar, but he was even more good looking now that she was so close to him. His blue eyes were his most prominent facial feature and his hair, which was perfectly styled, parted on a side and pushed back, looked so fluffy her fingers itched to run through it. He called the restaurant and it gave her more time to ogle him.  He had very broad shoulders and his rolled up sleeves unveiled perfectly visible veins, the most secure sign that someone works out.

 

**“We should take a shower.”**

Sophia didn't even notice he finished the conversation until he got up. **“Huh?”**

**“You have clean towels in the bathroom of your room and you have hygiene products in there too, they are for men, but it'll have to work for tonight. Dinner will be here in an hour, they are quite busy at the moment. I have to run through some papers and you, well, feel free to do whatever you want once you are done.”**

* * *

 

Sebastian was walking down the stairs when his eyes caught an unexpected sight, Sophia was sleeping on his couch. He has never had a girl sleep on his couch before, he had a fair amount of sexual encounters, but rarely did he bring girls over. He did have two fuck buddies in his lifetime, of whom one slept over a couple of times, but she would usually have left by the morning. He felt like he couldn't mentally commit to anyone, his work was taking too much time, so he hasn't had a real relationship since he was in his early teens.

 

Sebastian noticed Sophia was in a fetal position, hands between her thighs and he reprimanded himself for not coming down earlier because she was obviously freezing. He went to a nearby closet looking for the warmest blanket he owned. When he found it, she was still in the same position so he gently put it over her, wanting to let her sleep until the food came. In any other circumstance, he wouldn’t even wake her up, but he knew she hasn’t eaten anything the whole day.

 

He set on the edge of the coffee table, examining her. Even in sweatpants and a hoody, with messy, damp hair, with half of her face now being completely bruised and with a big patch on her temple, she was radiating. His hate couldn’t deny her beauty. A few blemishes on her face only added to her charm. His eyes moved from her face to her now covered body, she looked so tiny and fragile and yet he didn’t know anyone strong enough to do what she did yesterday.

 

Sebastian jumped from the coffee table when he heard the intercom, he didn’t want to look like a creep if Sophia caught him staring at her, but she didn’t even flinch to the sound of it. He told the doorman to let the delivery boy in and he took care of the payment. He decided to let her sleep for another 10 or 15 minutes and in the meantime he set the coffee table for them. He figured it would be more convenient for Sophia to eat there.

 

He waited until steaks got lukewarm before he decided to wake her, cold steaks were as good as no steaks. **“Sophia.”** He called her in a gradually louder voice each time he called her name, but she didn’t respond. He placed a hand on her shoulder and ran his thumb over it a couple of times. **“Wake up, little girl.”**

Sophia let out a small whimper before she turn to the other side and opened her eyes half way. **“You used to call me like that when we were kids.”**

He was caught by surprise. **“Did I? I don’t recall that, how do you? You were like 3 or 4 when we last talked.”** He moved to sit next to her when she sat up.

 

 **“You did. I don’t know, I simply do. It was my 4 th birthday, as I remember.” **Her eyes pierced through him.

 

 **“I don’t remember that but I do remember what you called me.”** He winked at her and it was the first time she saw him genuinely smiling.

 

 **“Jesus, please, don’t say it.”** She put a hood over her eyes.

 

**“Prince.”**

**“Please, stop now.”** Her head was in her hands now.

 

He pulled her hands away and tilted her head up so she would look at him. **“My prince Sebastian.”**

She shoved his hand away. **“Shut up.”**

**“I clearly remember that you were dressed like a princess and you were chasing after me the whole time asking when we were going to get married.”** He was wholeheartedly laughing, occasionally slapping his thigh.

 

Sophia waited for him to calm down. **“You mean, mean person. You can’t hold that against me, I was a toddler and…”**

**“You called me a freaking prince.”** He flashed his smile at her again with all of his perfectly white teeth visible.

 

 **“If you had enough fun, I suggest we start eating now.”** Sebastian nodded his head in silence as he put steaks on their plates. Sophia tried to cut it, but she just ended wincing in pain because of her sprained wrist.

 

 **“Let me, please.”** Sebastian took a knife and fork from her and started cutting her piece. **“Is this small enough for you?”**

A man whose life was destroyed by her family was now taking care of her as if she were someone close to him. She watched him continue to do the cutting as he repeated the question and tears started welling in her eyes. **“Sebastian…”**

**“What is it, did I do something wrong.”** He let the cutlery down and, with bending one leg in the knee, he turned completely to her.

 

 **“No, I…”** She grabbed his hand.

 

 **“I know that it must be very difficult for you, finding out that your parents are not who you thought them to be and your father hurting you. Maybe one day your parents…”** He squeezed her hand back.

 

 **“It’s not because of them.”** She felt like she didn’t have any right to cry so she forced back the tears.

 

**“So, it is because of me?”**

**“It’s not because of you, it’s for you. You were just a kid and they… Your whole life…”** Tears stubbornly fell down her cheeks and Sebastian immediately let go of her hand. **“You were all alone and… Your parents… Your childhood… Most important dates for you…”** She started speaking incoherently.

 

Sebastian felt a lump forming in his throat, there was it again – compassion, it wasn’t guilt nor was it pity, he felt pure compassion from the person he the least expected it from. Just like compassion came from the most unexpected person, his reaction was unexpected too. Being careful of her wrist, he engulfed her in a hug, positioning himself in a way her face got buried in the crook of his neck. She quietly sobbed as his hands roamed all over her back occasionally squeezing so hard he was sure she will have bruises tomorrow, but she didn’t even notice, or at least, she didn’t react.  She pushed herself deeper into him, clutching his t-shirt and pulling it down.

 

They stayed like that until her sobs completely quieted down and he gently pushed her away from himself, placing a soft kiss on her hair. Then he said something he could swear he would never say to a Tucker in his lifetime: **“That wasn’t your fault in the slightest.”**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophia breaks a promise, so Sebastian decides to punish her. It backfires when she starts calling him Mr. Stan and he can't stop imagining what he would do to her.

Sebastian paced up and down his living room, saying that he was pissed would be an understatement. Despite her promise, Sophia left the apartment. He saw her car in the garage when he had parked his, so he was relieved until he found out that his apartment was empty. When he tried to call her and instead of being greeted by her voice, he was surprised by the sound of her ringtone coming from her room. That’s when he started panicking, variations of bad scenarios went through his head. That was until he talked to the doorman who was positive that he saw Sophia leaving the building about 20 minutes ago, carrying only what seemed to be a wallet in her hand. The overwhelming feeling of fret was replaced by aggravation. He was mad that she didn’t keep her promise, but he was furious at himself for carrying at all.

The second he heard the first button on the lock keypad being pushed, he strode to the door and opened it almost forcefully, grabbing Sophia by her biceps and pulling her in, causing her to inhale sharply. Her breath was caught in her throat and all the plastic bags she was previously holding were now on the floor. Her heart rate must have gone above a 120 bpm.

Sebastian kicked the door shut with his foot, not caring that it would slam with a loud bang. A moment later, they were in the same position like two days ago in his office. Sophia’s back was against a wall, he was only centimeters from her, but this time his hands were on her shoulders, his fingertips digging into her jacket. **“Sophia fucking Tucker,”** his voice was a barely audible growl. His eyes locked with hers when she lifted her head. **“I was worried sick about you. You could’ve at least brought your phone with you, damn it.”**

 **“You just scared the hell out of me, Sebastian.”** She broke the eye contact by lowering her head and her gaze fell on his lips. She wondered for a second if they would feel as soft as they look like on hers. She snapped back to reality when Sebastian let go of her, he confused diversion of her gaze and silence for fear. He didn’t want to make feel trapped after what she went through, but his anger didn’t subside. **“My phone died so I left it on the charger, it wouldn’t serve me anyway. As for leaving the apartment, you said that you usually came from work around 8 PM and now’s not even 5, so…”**

 **“What difference does that make?”** He bit on his lower lip, sucking it completely in his mouth.

 **“I just thought…”** Sophia suddenly felt like a school girl that came home later than the curfew. She looked at the floor as she fumbled with the bandage on her hand.

Sebastian used his index finger to make her lift her head as he placed it under her chin. **“You promised that you wouldn’t leave.”**

 **“Well, Hitler promised not to invade Czechoslovakia, Sebastian. Welcome to the real world.”** Sophia always found this quote funny, but Sebastian obviously didn’t, not in this situation, at least.

He turned his back on her and walked in the direction of the stairs as he took a deep breath. **“I’m glad you find this amusing.”**

Sophia felt instant regret for trying to turn this into a funny situation. After all, she did break a promise, it was something she almost never did, but she had a good intention. She contemplated following him right away to apologize, but she decided to give him some time to cool off.

Sophia had put away the groceries and had waited for a few more minutes before she decided that Sebastian probably cooled down. She knocked on an already open door of the small room he used as an office. **“May I come in?”**

Sebastian straightened in his chair, but he didn’t lift his head from the papers on his desk. **“If you must.”**

Sophia entered and leaned her butt next to papers, eyeing him once again. His jaw was clenched, his eyebrows were furrowed, making wrinkles on his forehead more noticeable. She wanted to trace them with her finger, but she knew better. She lightly nudged him on the shoulder, but his eyes stayed fixed on the papers. **“I came to apologize.”** He had looked at her for a short second without saying anything before he focused on what was in front of him. **“I shouldn’t have made the joke.”** That didn’t cause any reaction. **“I definitely shouldn’t have broken the promise. I’m sorry.”** Still no reaction. **“I just wanted to make you a dinner and thank you for taking care of me.”** She tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. **“Sebastian…”**

He wouldn’t succumb, he made her make a promise for her own good. **“If you are done, please, leave.”** He wanted her to suffer a little longer.

Sebastian heard her mutter under breath as she was leaving the office: **“Coldhearted jerk.”**

* * *

 

 

 

 

Sebastian came down running when he heard a few loud bangs coming from the kitchen. He saw Sophia leaning her head on the fridge and a colander, a pot and a couple of other dishes scattered around her. **“Great, Sophia, good job. You can’t do anything right.”** She had slammed her forehead on the cold hard surface a couple more times before it was met with a warm flesh, Sebastian created a barrier with his hand. **“Just go away and be mad at me until I finish making dinner.”** She sniffled a few times and turned to him. His body heat was so inviting, but, again, she knew that it wouldn’t be the best idea to initiate any physical contact.

 **“How did you plan on making anything when your hand is injured?”** He pushed his hair back and rolled up his sleeves.

 **“I can do it. I’m just making a simple pasta, I just need to, um…”** She looked around herself: **“See, you have a food processor, I don’t have to chop anything, I just need to peel stuff and… What are you doing?”**

Sebastian dragged a bar stool to the kitchen counter. **“We are going to do this the right way, with chopping and everything.”**

 **“You know how to cook?”** Sophia always found it sexy when a men knew how to cook.

 **“No. The only thing I know how to make are boiled eggs. You are going to give me the instructions and I’ll simply do everything you tell me to.”** He threw all the fallen dishes in the sink.

Sophia placed herself on the stool and reached out for his hand so she could link their pinky fingers together. **“Does this mean I’m forgiven, chef?”**

Sebastian moved closer to her and unlinked their fingers so he could take her injured hand in his and trace the edge of the bandage with his thumb. He placed his left hand on her thigh, without even being aware of his action, he stood between her legs, instinctively wanting to come closer to her inviting scent. Sophia opened her legs wider resting her knees against the outer sides of his thighs.

He was encouraged by her reaction, he kept his eyes on her injured wrist, but his hand moved tauntingly slowly up her thigh until it reached her waist. His eyes travelled from her wrist to her face and so did his right hand. His thumb traced the outline of her big bruise and his fingers were feeling soft skin behind her ear. He couldn’t take his eyes off the bruise, it turned green in patches and he wondered how much pain she’s endured. It was obvious to Sebastian that she was in physical pain, she didn’t complain, but her eyes closing the second he touched her skin gave him a clear signal. He knew the physical pain will go away soon, but he was concerned about her emotional pain, she was betrayed by two people closest to her. He wanted to make her feel better, well, that’s how he justified his next move to himself. He pulled Sophia closer, feeling her chest rise and fall against his, his lips met with her unbruised cheek, not moving from the spot where they met her skin. Her hands found a way to his hips and he pressed himself closer to her.

Her warm breath tickling his ear was a cue for him to back away. **“So, am I forgiven, Seb?”** Sebastian moved back to the sink, leaving an empty space between Sophia’s legs which she tried to compensate by pressing her legs together the hardest she could.

 **“Absolutely…”** A big smile appeared on her face, but it was wiped away just a second later.   **“…Not. I want you to be ready tomorrow at 8:30AM. You are going to work with me. You won’t leave my side until I start trusting you again. You will be stuck with me in the office, boring yourself to death.”**

Sophia snapped back from her haze. **“If you think that that will be a punishment for me, you are wrong. You do realize I have a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management and that I’ll soon get a Master’s degree in the same field? This will be like a field trip for me, dude.”**

They were openly staring at each other now, Sophia’s eyes were glowing and Sebastian bit his lip to prevent a smile to form on his face because of the sight in front of him. **“I have to admit that I didn’t know that.”**

 **“I love hospitality industry, I’ve already done various training in our hotels…”** Her eyes fell to the floor as soon as the words escaped her mouth. **“Well, I mean _T Hotels_.” ** She cleared her throat and then a smile reappeared on her face. **“I did pretty much everything, housekeeping, F &B, Front Desk, marketing… It was actually the only part of the _Tuck Holding_ in which I took interest. May I use this as a reference in my CV? What do you say, Mr. Stan?”**

Sebastian felt blood rushing between his legs, Sophia calling him Mr. Stan got him semi-hard and he bit his lip once again. **“Only if you do well, Miss Tucker.”**

* * *

 

Unfortunately for her, Sebastian was right, she was beyond bored. He spent almost two hours in briefings while she stayed in the office. When he came back, he was so focused on the papers that he barely even noticed her. Well, that was until he decided to throw her a bone. He had opened three drawers before he found what he was looking for. He put two folders in front of her. **“Let’s see how good you are. Choose the better location for building a business hotel.”**

 **“Prepare to be amazed, Mr. Stan.”** Sophia didn’t consider herself to be a confident person, she was full of doubts about pretty much everything about herself, starting from her looks, but she knew damn well that she was good at what was going to be her profession. She graduated at the top of her class at the one of the best European Universities, she earned a full scholarship for her Master’s degree, it was obviously not about the money, she simply saw it as a recognition for her hard work.

Sebastian was grateful she got right to work because her words made him rock hard this time. He leaned back in his chair and discretely put a hand under the desk, repositioning his hard cock so he was at least more comfortable because there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

It didn’t help that Sophia was slightly leaning over the desk which allowed him to partially see her breasts. He imagine how they would feel in hands, they were pretty small, he assessed she wore a B-cup, but he was sure that they were round, firm and full. He was also sure they would feel amazing as he played with them.

As Sophia got more engrossed, she was less aware of her actions, but Sebastian didn’t miss a thing. He noticed the tip of the pen touching her tongue and his tongue darted over his lips. He wondered how she would react if he pulled over the desk to him and kissed her senselessly. He would inspect her mouth thoroughly and after that he would place her on the edge of the desk. He noticed before they had left the house that she wore stockings, so the only obstacle would be her panties and he would push them aside so his tongue could access its destination quicker. He wanted her to moan his name, to demand his touch, to be wet for him. He yearned…

 **“I’m all done, Mr. Stan. This one’s definitely the better choice**.” She pushed one folder towards Sebastian, but he didn’t react. He seemed completely off, his eyes were glued to the edge of the desk. **“Sebastian, are you okay?”**

He pulled the chair further under the desk, lifting his gaze to her. **“You need to stop calling me Mr. Stan.”**

 **“But why?”** Sophia seemed genuinely surprised by his request. **“I mean, we are in a business setting and I thought…”**

 **“It just makes me feel…”** He shifted in his chair. **“Old. And, you are not my employee, so you don’t need to call me like that.”**

**“Well, okay, Sebastian.”**


End file.
